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Canadians
Exposing the North American Union
Stop Lying.ca | May 7, 2007
By
Dana Gabriel
Two years after
Canada signed into the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North
America (SPP), an all party parliamentary committee held public
hearings on the matter. The SPP was signed by former Liberal Prime
Minister Paul Martin in March 2005 and is essentially the frame work
for a North American Union. NDP Trade Critic Peter Julian said,
“Canadians should know that the SPP process supports a North
American Union.” Under Stephen Harper's Conservative government,
deep integration into a NAU has been fast tracked. Through the SPP,
Canadian social, economic, and security policies are being further
harmonized with those of the United States.
NDP Member of Parliament Peter Julian and others have been
active in trying to bring the SPP agenda to the public’s attention.
It is because of his efforts that The Standing Committee on
International Trade held these hearings in the first place. He vowed
that, “The NDP will not stop until a full parliamentary debate and
review takes place.” Having been critical of the NDP in the past,
they have been the only major federal party to try and expose the
dangers of the NAU agenda. It does appear as if the NDP has awoken
from its slumber to champion this cause in Ottawa. Like many others,
Julian wishes to preserve Canada's sovereignty and stated,
“Canadians from coast to coast believe our country has a right to
exist independently. We can play a key role both in North America
and the world as a proud and sovereign nation.”
The hearings saw a real difference in opinion by witnesses on just
how the SPP would impact Canada. The executive vice-president of the
Council of Chief Executives, David Stewart-Patterson said, “The
underlying principle of the SPP is simply to encourage a common
sense approach, to deal in practical ways with practical issues that
can help the economies of all three countries.” You have to love how
he sugar coats the SPP and downplays its importance and consequences
as purely economical. The truth is that its tentacles will reach out
and affect practically every aspect of our lives, and not in a good
way. Other witnesses viewed the SPP as the only solution for
Canadian competitiveness to counter economic blocs such as the
European Union. Bruce Campbell, the executive director of the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, gave a dire warning when he
explained, “The cumulative effect of the SPP overtime could be
profound-- even more significant than NAFTA-- depending on how far
or fast it goes.” He believes that the whole SPP process should be
more transparent, and this message was also echoed by some of its
strongest proponents, who believe the government is making a big
mistake by keeping this agenda secret. There needs to be a debate in
parliament and the SPP must become a major issue in the next
election Ultimately, it should be up to Canadians to decide their
own fate.
Many Canadian cabinet ministers, bureaucrats, top military
personnel, and corporate elites, along with their American
counterparts, are engaging in private meetings to further advance
the NAU. Members of The Canadian Council of Chief Executives are
firmly behind this push for deep integration and this includes its
president Tom Aquino and former Liberal deputy prime minister John
Manley. Those in past and present governments have been busy selling
out Canada's sovereignty for a long time. The current government
doesn't have the guts to tell the public what they are really doing
because they know that the NAU will be very unpopular with the
majority of Canadians. That is why they are silent on this issue and
why these working groups are conducting their business behind closed
doors. It is up to us to further expose the NAU and force it into
the mainstream.
Although Harper did
not sign the SPP, his government is carrying on with the agenda of
further merging Canada into a NAU. The leader of the official
opposition Liberal Stephane Dion has also been silent on this issue.
This has left the NDP along with some fringe parties to make this
plan known. In further exposing this agenda Peter Julian said, “we
need to engage the SPP at all levels; we need to be there when
discussions are being held and I believe that we can, as activists,
shift the debate from the corporate agenda of more privatization,
fewer regulations and protections for working families and a cheap
imitation of American policy to shifting that debate toward a fair
trade policy which respects the peoples of Canada, Mexico and the
U.S. and work towards a fair trade model that can provide leadership
to the rest of the world.” Just as most American journalists and
pundits have been silent and complacent on the reporting of the NAU,
so has the Canadian mainstream media. Thanks to some in the
alternative media, more people are waking up to the reality of a NAU
and are educating others.
Connie Fogal, the
leader of the Canadian Action Party (CAP), has been very vocal in
her opposition to the NAU. Her party currently has no seats in the
House of Commons, but Canadians who are truly concerned about
preserving their sovereignty might turn to CAP as an alternative. In
her Corporate North American Union video presentation she states of
the NAU, “This is not a project under discussion. This is not a
matter people are sitting around negotiating, as to whether or not
it's to be done. The integration of Canada , the United States , and
Mexico is currently happening. It's in process and on track
according to the language of the people who are doing this.” I
strongly encourage everyone to watch this video on You Tube or
Google video and pass it on. It is very powerful, and Fogal is
definitely on the front lines, fighting the NAU in Canada.
What is at stake is
Canada's unique identity, its health-care system, its agricultural
industry, its oil and drinking water, along with other natural
resources. In addition to the environment also at risk is Canada's
sovereignty, and its security. Hopefully these hearings on the SPP
are just the beginning and will lead to full parliamentary debates
in the House of Commons. Canadians could very well play a major role
in derailing and defeating the North American Union.
-Connie Fogal Video
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